Drama Terms Flashcards
Drama
a story written to be performed by actors
Comedy
A play that has a happy ending
Tragedy
a work of literature that results in a catastrophe (normally death) for the main character
Comic Relief
A humorous scene, incident, or remark within a serious or tragic drama. It evokes laughter as a release from the tension of the serious action and usually follows scenes of intense emotion.
Prologue
Like a short story’s exposition, this is the opening speech that introduces the play’s main characters, plot, and setting
Act
A large division within a play
•May include several scenes
•Shakespeare’s plays always have five acts and are noted with a large Roman numeral.
Scene
A division of action within an act
•The acts in Shakespeare’s plays have a varying number of scenes, and the scenes are noted with a small Roman numeral.
Stage Directions
Direction by the playwright to the director, actors or crew in a play.
•Can indicate how an actor should speak, move, or where props should be located.
•Almost always written in italics
Dramatic Irony
when the audience knows something that the characters don’t yet know
Situational Irony
When the unexpected happens
•The opposite of what you expect to happen occurs
Verbal Irony (Sarcasm)
When you say one thing, but mean another
Dialogue
a conversation between two or more characters
Monologue
A speech by one character in a play to others
Soliloquy
a long speech expressing the thoughts/feelings of a character alone on stage
Aside
a short speech that the audience is intended to hear but other actors on stage do not
